Tears stream down my face, and I open my mouth to apologize—to tell him I had to, that I didn’t have a choice—but then he’s pulling me to him again, only this time his embrace is soft and his mouth is full of need, consuming me, tasting me, as if he can’t quite believe that I’m real. “Nikki,” he says when he breaks the kiss. “Nikki, oh, God, Nikki.”
I cling to him, my hands in his hair, then press my mouth to his again. I cannot get enough of him. His hands slide over my body, his mouth opens to me. My tongue wars with his. I will never have my fill of him, and all I want is this moment, this reunion. I want to drop down to the asphalt and strip him bare right there, and in that singular moment I do not know how I have survived without him.
Then it hits me—I haven’t survived. I have been sleepwalking, not living. Because how can I really be alive without Damien?
“I’m sorry,” I say when we finally break the kiss. “I’m so sorry she did that. I can’t believe she’d do that. She said if I broke up with you—” I cut myself off. I hadn’t intended to tell him that.
“I know,” he says flatly. “Ollie told me. He told me what you did, and he told me why you did it.”
I’m not sure whether I want to slap Ollie or kiss him, but the conundrum soon evaporates under Damien’s touch. He strokes a hand along my cheek, his familiar touch firing nerve-endings throughout my body. “You’re a goddamn fool, Nikki Fairchild. And I love you desperately.”
I swallow tears and cling to him even tighter, savoring our connection and the way he makes me feel.
His hands roam my back, over my ratty Bermuda shorts, up along the backs of my thighs. I moan, craving a more intimate connection.
“I think maybe we should get in the car.” He unlocks it and we climb in. The backseats are down and the area has been filled by a mattress. I glance at Damien, amused. “Roughing it?”
“I haven’t wanted luxury. I’ve been living in motels, the backs of cars. I’ve been all over Europe and I don’t think I’ve really seen one inch of it.”
I swallow. Ollie was right. Damien has been just as broken as I have.
“Tonight, I was going to drive to the desert. I thought I’d sleep under the stars. I thought it might help.” He points to the roof. I don’t know if it’s a standard feature or the billionaire add-on, but there is a huge sunroof over the back of the Jeep.
“It wouldn’t have,” I say. I know, because nothing would have helped me. Nothing except Damien.
“No,” he says. “It wouldn’t.” His eyes roam over me, and he reaches out tentatively to touch me. “Dear God, Nikki. Are you real?”
I can only nod, because if I speak I will surely start crying again.
“Thank God you found me.” He pulls me down beside him. I feel like I’m in high school again, and I have to admit I kind of like it.
“I’ve been looking for you for hours,” I finally say. “Ever since I saw the news. Are you okay?” I stroke his face, expecting the same clammy skin from Germany. But the Damien in front of me looks as gorgeous and healthy as always, not to mention exquisitely happy.
“I am now,” he says.
“I don’t understand why she released the photos.”
“She didn’t,” Damien says. “I did.”
I sit up and gape at him. “You? But—but why?”
“Because I didn’t have any other choice.” He eases me back down, then slides closer. He twines our legs together and his arm goes around my waist. I snuggle in close, and press my cheek against his chest, wanting to be as close to him as possible. “I was dying without you, and once Ollie told me the choice you made, I knew that I had to make one, too.”